Set to Rights
by okay-christa
Summary: Please excuse this vague and dull summary. This is more of a "character has lots of thoughts" fic. :P In the moments after Gwen's killed, Peter determines what he needs to do about Harry, who'll come back to consciousness at any time. Webb movie universe.


Peter has to close his eyes if he wants to think about anything other than Gwen. He steps away from her wrenched body, not too far because it feels wrong to leave her alone. Now standing in front of a collection of levers on the wall, Peter puts his face in his hands and mentally outlines the next events that are bound to happen.

Electricians and possibly a few police officers must be on their way to the grid, with the goal of investigating the cause of the massive power interruption in the city. They'd find Gwen. They'd find Harry too, if he's still unconscious up there in the gears of the clock.

Peter needs him to wake up soon.

He opens his eyes again and gazes at Gwen on the grimy cement floor. The blood from her nose has slid down her cheek and pooled onto the ground. For a couple seconds, Peter bends over at his middle, sure he's going to throw up from all the shock he's in. The wave passes and instead, he shivers.

He has to keep an eye on Harry, but he doesn't want to leave Gwen. He could bring Harry down to the base where they are, yet that's an even worse idea - it's a putrid thought to have the person who did harm to her so close...

So that's that. It's time for Peter to pass her into the care of others - the medics, Mrs. Stacy.

Leaning down next to her, he slides off her jacket. He mumbles her name a few times through another rush of tears, triggered by the leaden limbs and the spine that supports nothing. Gwen's not in these parts. Now that this is obvious to him, it's a little easier for him to go. He balls up her sky blue coat and places it under her head. In one tug, he straightens her legs. He feels bad about the blood. Without any tissues or cloth, he can't do anything about it.

"Bye," Peter whispers to her, then kisses her cold, whitened forehead. Her hair still smells like passionfruit.

After casting a few webs, Peter's back on the gears, kneeling by Harry. Another listless body, but this one takes breath after breath. No mercy, Peter grabs Harry's arm, the one with the small console on it that controls the suit, and he smashes it onto one of the thick spokes. This will make it exceedingly hard for Harry to get away once he comes to, the suit unable to function. And it'll annoy him, because there goes an invention Oscorp invested millions in.

Peter's willing to wait no more than five minutes. He can't be here when the authorities come, or they'll badger him about taking off his mask, showing who he is. Even if there wasn't this factor, he wasn't sure he could explain what had happened that caused Gwen's death without breaking down.

Peter tries shaking Harry. He does it with more aggression than needed. Harry's eyes stay shut.

Unable to tolerate looking at the friend who betrayed him, Peter turns himself around and waits. His muscles should be tired from the fight, but his nerves have been tricked into keeping sharp, ready to boost his arms and legs with more energy because his body can't tell the difference between physical danger and the shock of a loved one being killed.

The smashed dome of glass above him reveals a black sky with a small smattering of stars and one satellite zooming northward. It's bizarre that less than an hour ago, this same sky was orange and pink and framing the figures of him and Gwen on the bridge tower while Peter promised her he'd meet her in London.

Harry stirs. Peter instantly overpowers him by grasping his neck, pressing him into the wall they damaged earlier. Harry takes a minute to become fully aware of his surroundings, eyes going from glazed to watery and wide.

With a raspy voice, Peter says sternly, "Don't tell anyone who I am. You've done enough already, okay? Don't tell anyone." His teeth grind together. "Do you agree with that?"

Harry's bloodshot eyes glance at the hand around his neck. "You wouldn't kill me if I said no," he croaks out.

Peter's grip tightens. "You sure?" Harry squirms, but shows no signs of doubt. Peter hates how well Harry knows him. Harry's right - he wouldn't kill, not under circumstances like these. That's not what Spider-Man is about. He sighs and slackens the muscles in his hands. "Have some humanity, Harry," Peter says. "What's your answer?"

Harry's eyes, about the only feature of his face that remained somewhat intact through his transformation, blink at him and narrow in deliberation.

"What's your answer?" Peter asks him again, more force behind the words this time.

Whatever's going through Harry's mind, Peter doesn't know. Then in a shallow exhale, Harry mutters, "I won't tell."

While Peter was hoping for this, he's still surprised. He lets Harry go and stands above him. If he wasn't sickened by Harry, he'd ask why he's chosen to cooperate. Peter doesn't even nod as he extends his webbing to the remaining structure of the dome and leaves the tower.

He feels Harry's gaze on him the whole way up.


End file.
